Former-Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke held staunch beliefs on immigration and called for ICE agents to undocumented immigrants. At least one group hopes his resignation will put an end to that effort.
Since 2012, the DACA program has allowed 800,000 undocumented immigrant children to work and study in the U.S.
"It has opened a lot of doors educationally," said Daniel Gutierrez Ayala, a DACA recipient.
It's a scary possibility for him that president may completely or partially take it away. But, having Clarke Thursday provides a sigh of relief.
"A little bit of a lift of weight and pressure," Gutierrez Ayala said.
That's because Clarke had applied to ICE for his deputies to become ICE agents and enforce immigration laws. He fought notions of Milwaukee as a sanctuary County.
Voces De La Frontera believes the pressure the organization put on Clarke about the issue played a role in his resignation.
"It's something that there's been such strong resistance, not just on the immigration issue, but also this broader coalition that formed to really hold him accountable," said Voces Executive Director Christine Neumann-Ortiz.
While Clarke's resignation gives the group hope, they now turn to the governor who will appoint a new sheriff.
"We want a sheriff that's going to work with the community to make sure that we put an end to the human right abuses in the county jail and that's going to treat people with the kind of respect and human dignity that they deserve," Neumann-Ortiz said.
Gov. Scott Walker is taking applications for the job over the next few weeks. Law enforcement professionals will review the candidates and the governor will do final interviews before making a decision.
